Eddie Alvarez confirms he is officially a free agent, wants to test himself against the best

Lightweight Eddie Alvarez hasn’t come to a decision yet about what organization he’ll be fighting for the next time he takes to the cage, but it looks like he’ll be making up his mind sooner than later. Alvarez had a 90-day exclusive negotiation period attached to his recently-expired deal with Bellator, though it looks like the company lived up to their word by turning him loose to explore other options earlier than necessary.

Alvarez confirmed the matter in a recent conversation with MMAInterviews while in Las Vegas to support his Blackzilian brothers at WSOF 1. While the 28-year old wouldn’t go so far as to say he would be speaking with the UFC while in town, he certainly didn’t deny it either.

“I want to test myself against anyone who is ahead of me. I don’t know what I’m ranked in the rankings right now but I know there are guys ahead of me, and whoever I can fight that’s ahead of me – to up my stock and prove my ability – they are the guys I’m looking to get after,” explained Alvarez when asked about his future.

Considering the bulk of the Top 10 lightweights in MMA call the UFC home, the 24-3 Alvarez’s comments certainly seem to imply the likelihood of him joining the organization’s roster.

Regardless of where he signs, Alvarez should do well considering his past accomplishments in the cage. The former Bellator champion has finished 21 of the opponents he’s beaten and holds wins over the likes of Roger Huerta, Pat Curran, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Josh Neer, and Shinya Aoki.

much as i’ve enjoyed his fights in Bellator (some have been awesome) if he wants the cream he needs to join the UFC, guy is an instant main card draw with so many quality match ups to make.
Gray Maynard would be my first choice

As for Eddie, I don’t know why, but I really want to see him fight Jamie Varner. It popped into my head after reading the Varner/Melvin announcement and I just kept thinking….Damn, Varner/Alvarez sounds like a really fun fight. I know Eddie only wants top guys and fighting Varner makes absolutely no sense (Maynard is a much more logical choice), but I’m really hoping Jamie beats Guillard and the UFC makes the Alvarez fight happen sometime late next year.